The invention relates generally to the field of aquaculture and, more particularly, to a system and method for producing aquatic species for consumer consumption. Although the invention relates to a method and system for producing many aquatic specie, the preferred embodiments disclose a method and system for producing shrimp.
While seafood has always been a staple in the diets of many people in the United States and elsewhere, it wasn't until the 1980s that a significant increase in seafood consumption occurred. The consumption was largely the result of an increased awareness of the medical evidence that supported the health benefits and longevity accrued from a seafood diet. As a result, seafood distributors provided a greater abundance and selection of seafood products that further increased consumption. This increased domestic demand coupled with increased international demand by an expanding population led to more efficient methods for harvesting naturally occurring fish stocks from the oceans of the world. The increasingly efficient methods resulted in rapid depletion of these native fish stocks, requiring government intervention to impose restrictions on the size of the total harvest to preserve populations of certain native species. The smaller harvests resulted in increasing the price of seafood products, which helped stimulate the search for methods of growing fish stocks in a controlled artificial environment. The production of catfish in catfish farms is a dominant example of the growing, large-scale aquaculture industry. Other species produced by the aquaculture industry include crayfish, oysters, shrimp, Tilapia and Striped Bass.
The United States consumes about one billion of the approximately seven billion pounds of shrimp that are consumed annually by the world population. While seventy-five percent of this annual harvest is provided by ocean trawling, aquaculture in the form of shrimp farms provide the other twenty five percent. However, ocean trawling suffers from a limited season, a declining catch rate and environmental concerns. Shrimp farms may be categorized as open systems and closed systems.
Open system shrimp farms are generally open to the environment, such as open-air ponds constructed near oceans to contain and grow shrimp. These open shrimp farms suffer from vagaries of predators, the weather, diseases and environmental pollution. Saltwater from the ocean must be continually circulated through the ponds and back to the ocean to maintain adequate water chemistry for the shrimp to grow. The shrimp farmers must supply daily additions of dry food pellets to the shrimp as they grow.
Closed shrimp farms are generally self-contained aquaculture systems. While closed shrimp farms have greater control over the artificial environment contained therein, they have not been entirely satisfactory because of limited production rates, water filtration and treatment problems, and manufactured feed. Although some of these shortcomings can be overcome by increased capital expenditures, such as for water treatment facilities, the increased capital, labor and energy costs may be prohibitive.
It is desirable, therefore, to have a method and system for producing aquatic species, and particularly shrimp, that are not limited by a season, declining catch rate, environmental concerns, predators, weather, diseases, low production rates, water treatment problems, or manufactured feed. The system and method should not be limited to a specific location for access to a shipping facility or proximity to the ocean.